Quality control and assurance for FRP anchors - Current practice and path forward

Abstract

Anchorage of externally bonded fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) is now widely accepted as a means of mobilizing higher strains in FRP plates externally bonded to concrete surfaces for strengthening purposes, by delaying or mitigating debonding. For seismic applications, anchorage of the FRP can serve to provide additional capacity and load path redundancy for larger than expected seismic loads. A commonly used means of anchoring FRP is the use of fiber (spike) anchors, whose effectiveness has been confirmed by experimental research. Very little attention has, however, been paid to the quality control and assurance of such installed anchorage devices. This paper presents a commentary on issues associated with anchor installation as well as related quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) aspects. The paper also discusses potential effects on the performance of the entire FRP strengthening system, as well as suggesting measures to improve the reliability of such anchors.